%0 Journal Article
%T Pediatric Crohn¡¯s Disease in Bahrain
%A Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi
%J Archive of "Oman Medical Journal".
%D 2019
%R 10.5001/omj.2019.52
%X In the July 2018 issue of the Oman Medical Journal, Isa et al interestingly described the epidemiology, clinical picture, diagnostic and therapeutic features, and outcomes of pediatric Crohn¡¯s disease (CD) in Bahrain.1 It is well-known that inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), including CD, are associated with a variety of extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs) that might be the early manifestation of the disease itself. The autoimmune mechanisms leading to EIMs have been suggested to be related to many factors, including genetic susceptibility, antigenic display of autoantigen, aberrant self-recognition, and immunopathogenetic autoantibodies against organ-specific cellular antigens shared by the colon and extra-colonic organs.2 Microbes might also play an important role, probably via molecular mimicry.2 Globally, 30% of patients with IBDs develop EIMs and the clinical spectrum of these EIMs varies from mild transitory to very severe lesions, sometimes more incapacitating than the intestinal disease itself.3 Interestingly, the study reported only four patients (8%) with EIMs out of the 51 patients with CD studied. These included the following: eye involvement, arthritis, and clubbing each in one patient; and erythema nodosum in two patients.1 The low rate of EIMs (8%) compared to 30% reported worldwide3 is interesting and the following three points could plausibly explain that discrepancy
%U https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6505349/